Support for wagon or buggy tops



No. 606,773. Patented July 5, I898.

\ J. H. SPRAGUE.

SUPPORT FOR WAGON 0R BUGGY TOPS.

(Application filed Apr. 18, 1898.) (NoMudeL) UNITED STATES PATENT Oriucn.

JAMES H. SPRAGUE,-OF NORW'ALK, OHIO.

SUPPORT FOR WAGON OR BUGGY TOPS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 606,773, dated July 5, 1898.

Application filed April s 18 93.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known thatl, JAMES H. SPRAGUE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Nor- Walk, in the county of Huron and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Support for Wagon or Buggy Tops, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in means for supporting wagon or buggy tops on the seats of the vehicles; and the primary object that I have in view is to overcome one of the serious objections heretofore encountered in fitting a given-sized top to seats of varying sizes, thus obviating the necessityfor the manufacture and use of different-sized tops to fit the seats of corresponding sizes.

In my invention I provide a carriage-sup. port which is adaptedto any size of buggy or wagon seat to support a top of a given size in proper relation. to theseat, and as an ex emplification of the in'vention I may mention that a'thirty-eight -inch' buggy-top may be used on seats which are thirty-four inches, thirty-six inches, thirty-eight inches, forty inches, or forty-two inches wide, and the improved seat-support is constructed to hold the top firmly and rigidly to itsplace on the seat, while at the same time it permits of the tilt-p ing adjustmentlof .the' top to raise orlower the same, as'maybe desired by the occupant of the vehicle.

A furtherobject of the invention is to provide an'adjustable bow iron or plate which is constructed to embrace the middle bow to make a firm joint or unionthereof and which also provides for pivotal "attachment of the outside bows to said adjustable bow iron or plate. Y Y

- With these ends in viewthe invention'consists in the novel combination of elements and inthe construction and arrangement of parts, which will be hereinafter fully described and claimed. g f To enable others to understand the'invention, I have illustrated the preferred embodi-' ment thereof in the accompanying drawings, forming'a'p'a-rt of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a bugg top appliedto a seat and supported thereon by devices constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation looking Serial No. 678,074. (No model.)

at the inside of one side of the seat and showing the improved support. Fig. 3 is a trans verse sectional view through the seat, illustrating the top-support in edge view. Fig. 4: is a vertical section through the improved support on the plane indicated by the dotted line 4 4 ofFig. 2. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of one supporting iron or bracket. Fig. 6 is a like view of the adjustable bridge, and Fig. 7 is a similar view of the adjustable bow iron or plate.

- Like numerals of reference denote like and corresponding parts in each of the several figures of the drawings.

I I The generic feature of my invention consists of a bracket or brackets 7 adapted to be fastened to a side of a vehicle-seat, in combination with a bow-supporting bridge adapted to be fastened at different points to the bracket or brackets, whereby the top of a given size may be used in connection with seats of varying sizes. In the preferred embodiment as represented by the drawings I provide a pair of supporting brackets or plates 1 and 2 for the attachment of the bow- Isupporting bridge, which is clamped to and between said;brac kets to be held'thereby in a fined positionin relation'to the seat. Each bracket or plate is cast in a single piece of metal with a flat shank 3 and a curved arm 4, the outer extremity of which arm has an angular depending lug 5. Each bracket or plate is provided with screw-holes 6 in the shank 3 thereof, While the curved arm of the bracket has a series of holes 7 formed at suitable'intervals therein. In the depending angular log 5 of each bracket is formed a transverse opening 8, which is on a plane below certain of the apertures 7 in the arm 4. In applying the support to one side of a vehicle-seat the brackets 1 and 2 are adjusted in parallel positions and at proper distances from each other to receive the bridge 14, and theshanks 3 of said brackets bear against the inside face of the seat. Said brackets are secured firmly in place to the seat by screws or their equivalents 13, Which pass through the holes 6 in the shanks, and the outer ends of the bracket-arms are braced and strengthened by the employment of a bolt 9, which passes through the openings 8 in the angular lugs 5. The headed end of the bolt bears against the lug of one bracket. Its threaded end receives a nut 11,which is turned up against the lug of the other bracket, and between thelugs of the two brackets is interposed a clampingsleeve 12, which is fitted loosely on the bolt and bears against the inner opposing faces of said lugs 5 of the two brackets. From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawings, it will be seen that the brackets are securely fastened to the seat, so as to have the curved arms thereof overhang or project from the seat outside thereof, and the extremities of the brackets are joined together by a tie bolt or red the strain of which is opposed by the sleeve 12, arranged between the pair of brackets and held in place by the tie-bolt.

The bow of the top is connected with the pair of supporting-brackets by a transverse bridge 11, which may be fitted in coincident openings of the pair of brackets. To provide for the ready attachment of the transverse bridge to the brackets, said bridge is formed at its ends with the lugs 15, adapted to fit in two openings of the brackets, and as the brackets are drawn together by the tiebolt and are rigidly fastened to the seat the bridge 11 is clamped securely in place between the brackets to steadily support the carriagebow and the top on the seat.

The bridge 11 is cast in a single piece of metal with a circular plate or disk 16, which is formed with a segmental flange 17, that extends part way around the edge of the disk. The segmental flange is oifset on one side of the disk to form a rest 18 for the middle b0wplate when the top is lowered, and the other end of said flange 17 is provided with or terminates in a lug 19, which forms a stop for the bow-plate when the top is lowered. At the lower edge of the circular plate or disk its segmental flange 17 is fashioned to provide a vertical slot 20, which is in the plane of the vertical axis of the disk, and on the opposite side of the disk from the socket is provided a locking aperture or slot 22, the disk being provided midway between the socket 20 and slot 22 with the central axial opening 21.

The bow is attached to the transverse bridge 11 through the medium of an elongated iron or plate 23, which is constructed to embrace the bow, so as to make a firm jointtherewith. This iron or plate 23 is provided at its edges with ribs 21, forming a seat 25 for the lower end of the middle bow forming a part of the top, and said elongated iron or plate 23 is further provided with lugs 26, which are made integral with said plate at the upper end thereof and extend laterally from opposite sides of the seat 25. At its lower end the bow iron or plate 23 is extended to form a locking-tenon 27, which when the bow is in a vertical position fits into the socket 20 of the disk-bridge, and said iron or plate 23 is further provided with an elongated slot 28 and a locking-stud 29, the latter being integral with said iron or plate 23. lVhen the iron or plate is adjusted on the disk for its locking-stem 27 to enter the socket 20, one edge of said plate abuts against a stop-shoulder 29 on the disk, its slot 28 is coincident with the central aperture 21 of said disk, and the stud 29 enters the slot 22 in the disk. The bow iron or plate is held securely in this position by a bolt 30, which passes through the slot 28 and the aperture 21 for its head. 31 to bear against the plate 23, and the thread ed end of said bolt receives a clamping nut or wheel 32, that binds against the outside of the disk 16, forming a part of the bridge 14-.

The middle bow of the top is fitted in the seat 25 of the elongated plate or iron 23 and the parts are secured firmly together by bolts or screws 31, which pass through the middle bow and the iron or plate. The side bows of the top are pivotally attached, as at 36, to the cars 26 of the plate or iron 23, and said side bows are braced in the ordinary way by the links 37.

In applying my improved support to a vehicle-seat the bridge has its lugs fitted to the coincident openings in the pair of brackets. Screws are passed through the shanks of said brackets and the tie-bolt is adjusted to draw the brackets together, whereby the brackets are firmly attached to the seat, and they are braced by the bow, so as to be held from spreading and support the bridge 14 securely and firmly on the seat. The middle bow is rigidly attached to the ad j ustable iron or plate 23, and the side bows are pivoted to the lugs 26 of said plate. To apply a top to the sup port, the bow iron or plate is assembled in such relation to the disk of the bridge that the tenon 27 fits in the socket 20. The lockingstud 29 enters the aperture or slot 22, and the slot 2 S is coincident with the central opening 21 of the disk, after which the bolt is passed through the opening 21 and the slot 28, and the hand-wheel is screwed to the bolt to draw the bow-plate firmly againstthe disk of the bridge. The described connection be tween the bow and the bridge permits the top to be lowered simply by releasing the nut or hand-wheel sufficiently for the plate or iron 23 to be lifted and have its lug 29 and stem 27 free from engagement with the socket and slot of the disk, after which the tenon may turn within the segmental flange when the top is lowered until the end of the tenon abuts against the shoulder or lug 19 and the plate or iron 23 rests 011 the seat 18. The top may thus be lowered out of the way of the driver, and when desired said top is adapted to be raised and locked securely in its elevated position.

I attach especial importance to the employment of the brackets adapted to be fastened to the seat and the bridge supported in the desired position 011 said brackets. Vehicletops as heretofore ordinarily constructed employ irons with single openings, which were fixed to the seat, so that it was necessary to have the top the exact size of the seat. My construction of the seat enables a top of a given size to be supported on different sizes of seats, and by using one or two sizes of brackets the merchant is able to accommodate his customer by giving him the size of top without respect to the size of the seat, and vice versa.

I am aware that changes in the form and proportion of parts and in the details of construction may be made by a skilled mechanic without departing from the spirit or sacrificing the advantages of this invention, and I therefore reserve the right to make such modifications as clearly fall within the scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is I 1. A vehicle -top support consisting of a pair of brackets each cast in a single piece with an attaching-shank and provided with perforated arms, a transverse bow-supporting bridge adapted to be fitted in either of the openings in said brackets, and a clampingbolt which unites the free ends of the bracket arms and sustains a sleeve which is fitted between said brackets, substantially as described.

. on seats of different widths comprising a pair of brackets to be fastened in parallel relation to each other on the end of a carriage-seat, a transverse bridge arranged to span the space between the brackets and having its ends secured adjustably to the same for permitting said bridge to assume either of several positions relative to the seat, and a bow-attaching plate clamped to said bridge for adjustment thereon in a plane at right angles to the adjustment of the bridge itself, substantially as described.

4. The combination of a pair of fixed brackets adapted to project outwardly from a seat, a bridge spanning the space between the brackets to which said bridge is secured for adjustment laterally with respect to a seat and provided, at a point intermediate of its length, with the disk, and a bow-supporting plate pivoted to the disk at right angles to the axis of the bridge, and means for adjustably clamping said plate to the disk of the bridge, substantially as described.

5. The combination with brackets, of a horizontal bridge adjustably clamped to said brackets and having its flanged disk formed with .a vertical socket and a horizontal stoplug, a slatted bow-supporting plate having a stem adapted to fit the socket or against said stop-lug, and a clamping-bolt which adjustably fastens the plate to the disk of said'bridge, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto afixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JAMES H. SPRAGUE.

Witnesses:

O. W. WILLIAMS, H. H. GAL UP. 

